To a certain degree yes - it might depend on how well you really understand something. I also feel like this is a unique aspect of humans - to be able to antici

To a certain degree yes - it might depend on how well you really understand something. I also feel like this is a unique aspect of humans - to be able to anticipate / simulate cause and effect. I find with certain sports once you get the hang of it you do this. For me with aggressive inline skating I might imagine a lineup of tricks, getting the feeling for it before attempting the tricks. For boxing you can start to imagine an opponents punches and how you might slip or weave them followed by your own punches etc. For the folks talking about aphantasia, I find it difficult to hold a vivid image in my mind, so for me personally I don't so much see it, it's more like having the feeling for it or simulation via abstraction. As a kid I also would imagine that I could levitate. I would wonder if perhaps the reason people couldn't do some things like levitation is that they didn't try hard enough. If I lay still I would actually feel like I was lifting off the bed.